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On 16 October 2009, the Deputy Prime Minister announced the
Apprentice Kickstart package - a $100 million investment in two
measures designed to counteract the impact of the global recession on
Australian Apprenticeships commencement and retention rates. It also
aims to increase opportunities for young people to transition from
school to trade training, improving their chances of engaging with long
term employment.
The new program comes as a result of the final Keep Australia Working Report,
which included recent figures showing people starting trade
apprenticeships had dropped by more than 20 percent during the economic
downturn compared to the same time last year.
To address this, the Australian Government has fine-tuned the Jobs
Fund stimulus measure to ensure that Australia continues to recruit and
train apprentices in traditional trades and meets the potential skills
shortage head on.
‘The Government’s Apprentice Kickstart will more than triple the
first year bonus paid to employers who take on traditional trades
apprentices this summer,’ Ms Gillard said.
‘We’re boosting the commencement bonus from $1500 to $2350 and then
following up with another $2500 at nine months which means employers
will now receive $4,850 in the first year for taking on a traditional
trade apprentice over the summer.’
The Apprenticeship Kickstart will be funded from the Government’s
$650 million Jobs Fund and will be available to all employers who take
on a traditional trade apprentice aged between 15 and 19 years.
The new funding boost brings to around $250 million in the level of
additional support the Australian Government is providing to
apprentices.
The bonus will be available for apprentices who are hired between 1
December 2009 and 28 February 2010 and have commenced in traditional
trades hardest hit by skills shortages identified on the National Skills Needs List.
This includes trades like butchers, bakers, bricklayers, carpenters, electricians, hairdressers and pastry cooks.
The Government is also providing $20 million for pre-apprenticeship proposals as part of the $100 million Kickstart.
Ms Gillard also announced Round 2 of the Jobs Fund would open soon.
There will be two sources of funding in round two of the Jobs Fund:
- $51.9 million from the Local Jobs stream for the promotion of green technology, heritage and environment friendly projects
- $41.4 million for the Get Communities Working stream, to support social enterprise to create self-sustaining social businesses.
The Government will release the guidelines for Round 2 soon, with
details regarding the remaining funds in the Jobs Fund to be announced
in the future.
Projects to be funded under both streams will need to ensure they
are focused on local solutions in areas which have higher than average
unemployment or are disadvantaged. For more information on the Jobs Fund, visit www.deewr.gov.au/employment/pages/jobsfund.aspx Source: Training Packages @ Work - October 2009 - http://www.tpatwork.com/ViewIssue.asp
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